


Borrower Analogical

by HiddenDreamer67



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: Borrowers - Freeform, G/T, Giant/Tiny, borrower, borrower!logan, borrower!virgil, human!patton, human!roman, tinies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-05-14 10:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19271743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenDreamer67/pseuds/HiddenDreamer67
Summary: Two borrowers, Virgil and Logan, have been living together for quite some time when Logan has the unfortunate luck to get caught. Now only time can tell what's in store for our intrepid heroes as Virgil attempts to save his companion. Meanwhile, Roman and Patton cannot get over the joy of finding such a cute mystical creature, and with every day their curiosity only grows.





	1. November 13th

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: November 13th, 2019. Two borrowers, Virgil and Logan, have been living together for quite some time when Logan has the unfortunate luck to get caught.

“I  _told_  you not to go out.” Virgil hissed, pulling himself up onto the coffee table. Logan’s head whipped around to face him, relief flooding his features.

“I suppose an apology is in order.” Logan admitted, watching Virgil jog over to the cage.

“Yeah, and it better be a big one.” Virgil huffed, beginning to pull at the top latch. “Help me out with this.” Logan pulled the latch at the bottom. Between their combined strengths, the door began to creak slowly open. With all the rust on the cage bars, the creak turned into a loud, high pitched squeal. Both borrowers winced, sending a glance to the doorway.

“Thank you, Virgil.” Logan hurried to gather up his bag, joining Virgil on the tabletop. Virgil heard muffled voices in the other room, a sure sign at least one human was awake. It seemed the noise of the cage had caught some attention.

“Don’t thank me yet.” Virgil warned, tugging Logan along to where his hook waited embedded in the wood. He grappled down to the ground, already feeling it beginning to shake under the weight of gigantic footsteps. Virgil glanced anxiously up, watching Logan ease his way onto the rope. Virgil prayed that Logan would just take a leap of faith and jump for it, but…

“What the-?!” The human’s voice filled the room, footsteps headed right in their direction. Virgil cursed, ducking back behind the table leg. They had run out of time.

Logan yelped, cringing as he once again found himself within those terrifying digits. The fingers squeezed into his sides, sure to leave bruises under his ribs.

“I thought I took this away from you earlier…” Roman frowned, pulling the hook out of the table to examine it. Had the creature been hiding another?

“What happened?” A second set of footsteps shook Virgil’s hiding spot as another human entered, hiding a yawn behind his hand.

“It got out.” Roman explained, putting Logan back into the cage on the coffee table.

“Well that’s odd.” Patton came over, kneeling to inspect both the cage and its occupant. The creature looked as shaken and frightened as this morning. “I didn’t think it could open the latch on its own…” Of course, that could be the only explanation. There was no one else in the house, after all.

“But then what are we going to do?” Roman crossed his arms, trying to come up with his own solution as he looked down at the little guy. It had backed up to the other side of the cage, as if to try and get as far away from them as possible. “We can’t just stay up all night, every night with it.”

“No, we can’t.” Patton bit his lip in thought. Logan watched the humans anxiously. Roman was correct; the humans couldn’t stick around forever. They had schedules to keep, an entire life outside these walls. Sooner or later Logan would be left alone. It would only be a matter of time before Logan was truly free.

“I’ve got it.” The snap of Patton’s fingers caused Logan to jump. “Wait right here.” Patton left the room briefly, returning with a small padlock. He attached it to the bars, locking it into place around the top latch.

“There!” Patton said proudly once it was secure. He held up a small key attached to a lanyard. “I just remembered this extra restraint, it usually isn’t necessary but it was available at the lab so I picked it up just in case. It’s for more crafty animals, because it won’t budge with sheer force.”

“Well done, Padre!” Roman reached for the key, but Patton held it to his chest.

“Um, maybe I should hold on to it.”

“What? Why?” Roman said with a slight whine.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you!” Patton hurried to explain. “I don’t want to get in trouble with the lab if it’s lost. And, well, maybe if I have the key you won’t be tempted. I don’t want to scare the poor guy any more than we have to; lil’ creatures take time to adjust and feel safe in a new place.”

“Alright, fair enough.” Roman put his hands up in defeat. He looked disappointed but took a step back, inspecting the new mechanism from a distance. “You’re sure that lock will hold him?”

“Well, I was also sure about the latch itself.” Patton admitted sheepishly. “It should hold though. It’s what it’s designed for, after all.” He hid a yawn. “But, you’re welcome to stay up if you’re worried. I would offer to stay up with you, but…”

“Get some rest, Pat.” Roman gave his friend a gentle pat on the shoulder. Patton sent him a small smile before waving, heading back to his room.

Roman sat down in front of the coffee table, his knees coming near Virgil’s hiding spot. Virgil sucked in a breath, pressing himself further into the leg of the table.

Logan kept his guard up, watching the human warily. Why couldn’t this human go to bed, too? What was he planning? Roman merely sat there, as if he was trying to read Logan with his eyes.

“…you’re a clever one, aren’t you?” Roman spoke up, his words rumbling through Logan’s bones due to their sheer volume alone. Logan didn’t give him a response.

After several minutes of watching the creature just stand there -and glare at him, was it really glaring at him?- Roman hid a yawn of his own, the late hour catching up to him.

“Well, I suppose I’ll head to bed too.” Roman spoke up, before realizing he was essentially talking to himself. “After all, I doubt you’ll be going anywhere without this.” Roman waggled the hook from earlier back and forth in front of the cage. The little man’s eyes followed its movements, right up until Roman put the hook into his pajama pocket. If it wasn’t glaring at him before, it definitely was now. Roman chuckled at its little pouty face, standing up and departing for his own bedroom.

Logan watched the final human leave the room, now in possession of both borrower hooks. He gave a long, tired sigh as he glanced at the padlock now adorning his prison. Things just got a lot more complicated.

“Go home, Virgil.” Logan spoke aloud. There was a long minute of silence, and Logan wondered if the room was actually empty.

“I won’t leave you here.” Virgil backed up so he could gaze up at the table, but there was no angle where he could see the contents of the cage from the floor level.

“Just for now.” Logan advised. “They’re already suspicious tonight. We don’t want you to end up behind bars too.”

“…You’re right.” Virgil huffed, rubbing his arm. He hated it when Logan was right. But he also hated it when Logan was wrong; that was what had landed them in this mess in the first place, after all. “I just… I just don’t wanna…”

“You’re not leaving me here.” Logan tried to reassure them both. “You’re just regrouping, borrowing new supplies.”

“Right, right, yeah.” Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, I’ll… I’ll come back tomorrow. We’ll figure something out.”

Logan listened to the sound of pattering beneath him, then the subtle shifting of the hidden door in the wall under the couch. It shut with a distant thud, leaving Logan truly alone.


	2. November 14th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> November 14th, 2019. Virgil goes borrowing and attempts to free Logan a second time.

It was torture for Virgil to just sit inside the walls, twiddling his thumbs. He felt so  _useless_. But there was nothing he could do except keep an eye on Logan. And even that was the extent of his power. If anything were to happen to Logan, all Virgil could do was sit by and watch it happen.

Viril groaned, putting his head in his hands as he sat behind the ceiling vent, the closest entrance to the human world from his and Logan’s home. At least the humans seemed to be leaving Logan alone for now. Virgil had heard Patton talking about how they wouldn’t want to frighten Logan and that it would be best to allow him time to adjust. Virgil couldn’t help but worry how short of a break Logan would actually get. And it was hardly a break at all, considering he was still trapped in that ridiculous cage.

Hearing the familiar click of the front door as the second human left for class, Virgil knew he had to take advantage of this time when the house was empty. Virgil propped the spool of thread against the bars, unraveling the length so that it reached the floor below. He could see Logan’s eyes on him as he maneuvered into the human world, sliding down to the floor below. Virgil was forced to leave the thread hanging out in the open, as it would serve as his escape route.

Virgil scampered across the living room floor, making sure to pace himself as he picked up his legs to keep his feet from catching in the long fibers. He longed to get Logan home right this instant, but without his hook Virgil couldn’t even make it up onto the coffee table. The legs were far too slick to provide grip to even the nimblest borrower.

“Get some paper clips.” Logan called out, tracking Virgil’s progress from above. Logan felt just as useless as Virgil had moments ago, knowing he could do nothing but give advice as Virgil did all the work. Because of Logan’s own ignorance, no less. Logan took comfort in the fact that at least he was the one behind bars and Virgil had not had to pay for his mistakes.

Virgil gave Logan a brief thumbs up, not even sure if the other borrower saw it as he dashed into the first bedroom. Virgil scoured along the floor, hoping he would get lucky and find the supplies he needed scattered along the ground. Unfortunately he had no such luck; it seemed Roman had finally cleaned his room after years of clutter.

“You just have to make things difficult, don’t ya princey?” Virgil groaned, leaning back to peer up the leg of the desk. Here the wood was old, with nicks and grooves that would make decent footholds. It was a dangerous climb, but Virgil could manage. He didn’t have many options.

With great difficulty Virgil pulled himself up the large wooden pillar, stopping only briefly to take a breath every now and again. Thankfully Virgil was quite skilled when it came to feats of agility, and it was only a matter of minutes before Virgil was clambering onto the top. He ran over, gathering up a few paper clips and tossing them to the ground. He turned to climb back down, when a glint of something on the other end of the desk caught his eye.

Was that…? Virgil dashed over, grabbing it up with a large grin. He had already made his peace with never being able to see it again. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. After all, a paper clip would do in a pinch, but they bent far too easily to make reliable climbing gear. This abandoned fish hook, on the other end, had saved Virgil’s life on multiple occasions from a nasty tumble.

Virgil hooked the device into the table edge with practiced ease, grappling down to the ground. With a flick of his wrist the hook became unlodged before Virgil caught it in his palm. After wrapping it around his belt, Virgil gathered up the paper clips in his arms and ran back to the living room.

Virgil threw his hook up onto the coffee table, putting the paper clips on like oversized bracelets to free his arms for climbing. He grunted, forcing himself to hurry. College classes only last so long.

“Ah, wonderful.” Logan praised, noticing all that Virgil had acquired.

“Yeah yeah, I’m amazing.” Virgil smirked, approaching the bars. He frowned at the padlock, the newest addition to Logan’s prison.

“Hand me a clip.” Logan instructed, and Virgil handed it over. Logan began to bend the metal, twisting it around to try and fit it into the lock. Virgil watched as his friend tried a variety of various positions, none of which seemed to have any effect on the mechanism.

“..Let me try.” Virgil offered, getting a bit anxious when Logan failed. Logan begrudgingly let go, allowing Virgil to take a stab at it. His attempts yielded the same results.

“It’s no use.” Logan declared after several minutes. “It’s too soft, it’s bending around instead of providing a steady base.”

Virgil released the wire, feeling his anxiety heighten as he realized their time was running out. He yanked the wire out, instead trying to stab the lock with a spare thumbtack he kept on hand. The handle made it impossible for the blade to reach far enough into the lock to actually do anything.

“That’s not going to work-” Logan was cut off by a frustrated Virgil.

“Well what is gonna work, huh?” Virgil felt rage and despair boiling inside him simultaneously. “You wanna just stay in there, at the mercy of those humans?”

“Of course not.” Logan’s answer was immediate, and the accompanying shudder Logan gave made Virgil’s heart ache with sympathy. Logan must have been terrified these last two days, especially when he had to face this all alone. Virgil knew he wouldn’t be nearly as brave in Logan’s place.

“Then what do we do?” Virgil turned pleadingly to his friend, looking into his eyes for some form of guidance. Logan was always the smarter one. The clever one. Logan was the one who always had a plan. He had plans for his backup plans. He had schedules and ideas that Virgil could never hope to comprehend.

But today, Logan’s eyes held none of their usual spark. They were soft, unfocused. He resembled a lost child, and after a moment Virgil realized that while he was looking to Logan for guidance, Logan was doing the same back at him.

“…you should go.” Logan broke eye contact first, looking down. He rubbed gently at his sides. “You don’t have much time.”

“We have enough time.” Virgil insisted, but the constant clicking of the clock on the wall behind him said otherwise. “We can figure this out.”

“Virgil, please.” Logan pinched his eyes shut, as if this pained him more than the bruises from earlier. “I’ll.. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that!” Virgil’s retort came out with a bit of a hysterical laugh, and Virgil vaguely realized he was downright panicking. Logan’s self-righteous demeanor was freaking him out a little.

“Is that what you want to hear?” Logan’s eyes snapped up, glaring at Virgil. “Fine, you’re right. I don’t know I’ll be fine. You’re right, I’m wrong. And you were right yesterday, too. I should-” Logan’s voice cracked slightly. “…I wish I had listened to you. You warned me. I shouldn’t have gone.”

“For the same reason, please listen to me now.” Logan’s gaze turned to one of pleading. “Virgil, I cannot bear to have you stuck in here with me. At least when you’re out there I know you’re alright, and I can hold onto hope that you will find a way to get me out of here.” Logan grabbed Virgil’s hand through the bars, giving it a comforting squeeze. Whether it was to comfort himself or Virgil was unclear.

“I’ll get you out of here, Lo.” Virgil said with more determination than he felt. He grasped onto Logan’s arm like a desperate child. “I promise.”

“You are smarter than I ever give you credit for, Virgil.” Logan insisted. “It’s why I should have listened, and it’s also why I know you’ll succeed. You can do this.”

“At least one of us believes that.” Virgil gave a dark chuckle. Reluctantly Virgil pulled his hands back, pulling out his knife and putting it in his bag. He slung the paper clip wires over his shoulder, giving Logan one last look before grappling down. He ran over to the thread awaiting him from earlier, beginning the arduous task of climbing the entire length up to the ceiling vent.

When Virgil reached the top, he put his hands on his knees and allowed himself a few panting breaths before beginning to roll up the thread. Halfway through this task Virgil heard the sound of the front door. Heart pounding, Virgil’s hands flew to roll it up at twice the usual speed. The last inch of the thread disappeared between the bars just as the human bean entered the threshold.


	3. November 15th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Summary: November 15th, 2019. The humans grow suspicious and Logan is moved to a new location.

“We have a problem.” Logan looked up, eavesdropping on the human’s conversation in the kitchen. 

“What’s up?” Patton asked, stirring a pot on the stove. 

“I think that thing can get out.” Roman’s voice lowered in volume as he gestured to the cage. “The hook disappeared.” _uh oh._

“I thought you said there were two hooks?” Patton clarified.

“Yes, there were.” Roman nodded. “But now there’s only one again.” Patton walked over towards the cage, leaning down to inspect Logan. Logan kept his head down, trying to feign disinterest when inside his heart was pounding.

“Well, it doesn’t look like he has it.” Patton pointed out. Roman joined him in the living room, looking annoyed. 

“I’m telling you, he’s responsible for this.” Roman said, not knowing he was only half-right. 

“Maybe you just misplaced it.” Patton offered. 

“No, I didn’t.” Roman insisted. “I checked all around my room, and all I found was that my paper clips had been moved too.”

“Your…paper clips?” Patton’s eyebrows furrowed. He shook his head briefly. “Roman, that’s all very strange-”

“Exactly!”

“But just think about what you’re suggesting.” Patton reasoned. “This little guy somehow undid the lock, went to your room, stole your office supplies, and then decided to re-lock himself in the enclosure?” Logan was relieved that at least one human was still capable of reason. 

“Okay, yes, it does sound a bit crazy.” Roman admitted. “But you’ve gotta admit, it’s a bit too much of a coincidence that out of all the things to suddenly disappear, it’s that dumb fish hook.” Roman looked at the cage a bit warily. “Do you think it has magic powers?” Logan almost raised an eyebrow as he tried to hide a snort, meeting Roman’s eye. “Oh my, now it’s looking at me. Why’s it looking at me?”

“Because you’re staring again.” Patton gently put his hand on Roman’s shoulder, pulling him a few steps back. “We’re probably startling it, most small creatures keep an eye on possible threats. We watched a video in class about it today. It’s perfectly normal.”

“There’s nothing perfectly normal about any of this.” Roman muttered, giving Logan the hand gesture for _I’m watching you_. Logan knew that it was perhaps best to not engage the human, but the small look of unease on the human’s face made it worth it. Logan put his head down, hiding a small smile. It was at least momentarily amusing to find he was able to bring a small bit of discomfort upon a human bean.

“I think we need to keep a closer eye on him.” Roman declared, causing Logan’s smile to drop. More human surveillance would only make it harder for Virgil to come up with an escape plan.

“How about we move it to your room?” Patton suggested, a small twinkle in his eye. “That way you can tell me if he has magic powers.” Logan tensed, not liking the idea of a change. Especially one that would put him in closer proximity with the humans. 

“Are you mocking me?” Roman huffed.

“Only a little.” Patton teased. “But it would also be good to get the lil’ guy out of the living room.” He looked down at said captive sympathetically. “I think all the foot traffic is scaring him.” 

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Roman marched over to the cage, causing Logan to scramble back. He lifted the enclosure, and Logan tumbled along the bottom slightly with all the movements.

“Careful!” Patton warned, rushing over to support the other side. Logan grasped onto the bars of the cage, trying to keep himself steady as he rose and fell with each footfall. 

“Over here, Padre.” Roman guided the two of them into his bedroom and towards his desk, freeing his hand briefly to push a handful of notebooks out of the way. The two gently set the cage down on the desk, Logan still panting heavily at the bottom. His eyes scanned across the room, reevaluating his new prison location.

“Perfect!” Patton said, clapping his hands happily.  

Logan held the exact opposite view of the situation. This was a disaster. He kicked at the bars out of meer frustration as the humans left to eat dinner, only for Roman to return shortly. Logan loathed everything about his new situation; he loathed the feeling of constantly being watched when Roman studied, he loathed the desk lamp that shone in his face as the hours crept long into the night, and he loathed how long it took for Roman to finally go to bed and leave him in peace. 

Of course, that peace was only relative as well, given the human was sleeping only ten feet away. His snores rumbled throughout the room, alleviating any chance of Logan getting some sleep. There was sure to be no privacy now that he resided with a human. At least while in the living room Logan had the night hours to himself. 

Still, Logan could at least take comfort in the fact that while Roman’s suspicion was dangerous, so far both humans proved too incompetent to even consider Virgil’s existence. He would have to warn Virgil to be more careful, though. Borrowing was going to be a lot more difficult now that the humans were looking for signs of the unordinary. 

“Finally.” Virgil said, appearing as if from thin air. Logan hadn’t seen him traversing the floor in the dark. “I was beginning to think he never sleeps.”

“What are you doing here?” Logan whispered, casting an anxious glance towards Roman’s form. Logan had never gone borrowing in the human’s room while he was asleep, preferring to borrow while Roman was at school, and thus Logan didn’t know if Roman was in fact a light sleeper.

“Rescuing you, remember?” Virgil crept over, keeping his voice low as well.

“Do you have a plan?” Logan’s face lit up. 

“Well…” Virgil cringed. “I’m working on one.” Logan tried not to vocalize his disappointment, but he was sure his facial features betrayed him. 

“The humans are getting suspicious.” Logan informed him. “They saw the hook was missing.”

“Yeah, I saw the whole thing.” Virgil fiddled with the hook at his side, the one that had caused all this trouble. “I’m, I’m really sorry Lo. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“I know you didn’t.” Logan assured him. “I don’t blame you; and frankly, even given the circumstances I still would have advised you to take it. It’s too valuable a tool for you to lose now.”

“So…you don’t think I should put it back?” Virgil looked over to where Logan’s hook still lay on the other side of the desk.

“No, at this point that would only arouse more suspicion.” Logan shook his head. “It’s best you keep it.” Unfortunately, for the same reason Logan knew that his own hook would have to stay put. It was so close, and yet so far. Logan gazed at it as if it were mocking him.

“If you don’t have a plan, why are you here?” Logan turned his attention back to his friend.

“I just…” Virgil scratched his head, searching for the right words. “I dunno, I didn’t want you to feel alone.” 

“That’s…appreciated.” Logan gave him a small smile, despite the fact that Virgil’s actions were incredibly illogical.

A particularly large snort from their human roommate made both borrower hearts skip a beat, but Roman continued to sleep on, oblivious to Virgil’s added presence.

“I’ll, uh, take that as my cue to go.” Virgil said sheepishly, a bit shaken from the close call. “But i’ll come back tomorrow, okay?” Logan was quiet for a moment, thoughtful.

“No.” Logan’s response was softer than he intended.

“…Come again?” Virgil paused, in the middle of unraveling his hook.

“Don’t come back tomorrow.” Logan’s eyes were still locked on Roman’s sleeping form, looking fearful. “I’m being watched too frequently. Roman’s incredibly suspicious of my actions as it stands. Though both humans are incompetent, it’s only a matter of time before they connect the dots about today.”

“What, uh, what are you saying?” Virgil swallowed a lump in his throat to speak, catching on.

“If you keep coming, they’ll find you too.” Logan explained, looking at him. “Don’t come back. At all.”

“Don’t come back at  _all?”_  Virgil repeated. “How the hell am I supposed to rescue you, then?” Logan’s lack of an answer made Virgil’s eyes widen. “Oh, oh hell no.”

“Virgil, I know the prospect of moving is frightening-” 

“Like hell I’m leaving you!” Virgil’s voice was louder than intended, driven by rage. It bounced lightly off the walls. Logan put a hurried finger to his lips, but the damage was done.

Both borrowers froze as they heard a loud groan. Heads whipped around to face the large bed where the human let out a large yawn. Fearing the giant was waking, Virgil got ready to bolt.

After a few incredibly tense moments, Roman rolled over. The human shifted a bit more in those enormous sheets, and eventually… the snoring resumed. Logan let out a small sigh of relief. 

“What happened to all that talk yesterday, huh?” Virgil whispered, visibly shaking. “About how I’m smart enough for the both of us?”

“Virgil, I’m sure given the proper amount of time and resources you would be able to free me from this prison.” Logan turned to his friend. “Unfortunately, you are lacking both. The humans know of my existence. They know things are going missing despite the fact I’m behind bars. Sooner or later they’ll figure out there are two of us.”

“So?” Virgil muttered. The idea of humans knowing about his presence was frightening, but that was always a risk of borrowing. You never knew if a human bean had caught a passing glimpse of you in the night.

“Virgil, they’ll go looking for you.” Logan insisted. “They’ll put up traps. They’ll set up surveillance systems. You are a fantastic borrower, but the probability of even you evading capture forever if you continue to come back for me is slim to none.”

Virgil didn’t realize there were tears in his eyes until his vision became blurry. Logan was grasping his hands through the bars again, but he was barely aware of their comforting warmth.

“Virgil? Virgil, breathe.” Logan instructed, realizing Virgil was getting overwhelmed. 

“I - I’m sorry.” Virgil gasped, trying to get himself under control.

“It’s alright.” Logan assured him, waiting patiently for Virgil’s breathing to regulate. Virgil counted his breaths, timing it to Logan’s own. Slowly, Virgil could feel the world around him again. He gave Logan a small nod to indicate he was back. Logan spoke in a calmer tone. “Get out of here, Virgil. Get far away from this place while you still can.”

“I’m _not_ leaving you here.” Virgil insisted, clinging to Logan’s hands tightly. He glared. “Stop acting like you know what’s best. We’re a team, remember? You don’t get to boss me around. And that includes bossing me around to get me to leave you alone.” Logan smirked slightly at this, but his eyes still looked broken. 

“Fine.” Logan slowly pulled his arms back from Virgil’s embrace as though it pained him. “I cannot control you. I cannot force you to move.” Logan pulled his arms around himself. “But at the very least, respect me enough to not come back. Not unless it’s a necessary aspect of your plan. We… we can’t risk any more social calls.” Virgil looked at him.

“…fine.” Virgil agreed, his heart aching. “I…guess this is goodbye then.” Logan gave a terse nod, and Virgil guessed that if Logan tried to speak no words would come out. Virgil reached out a hand, but Logan only backed further away, shaking his head. Virgil sighed, trying to stay strong for Logan’s sake as he grappled back down.


	4. November 16th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil has a plan- get the key and get out.

Virgil had a plan. Oh yes, he had a plan.

…but Logan wasn’t going to like it.

Truth be told, Virgil didn’t like it either. He had been avoiding it, but with the way things had been escalating Virgil knew it was time to take risks rather than play it safe. Logan didn’t deserve to spend even a single night in that cage, and now he had spent three. 

Virgil watched through the vent bars as the human, Patton, entered the bedroom where Logan was still held captive. The human offered Logan some food, then locked the cage door back up, the key hanging from his lanyard appearing in view only briefly before being tucked back under his shirt. Virgil leaned forward, watching Patton exit the room. Then Virgil stood, hurrying down through the vents to follow. 

Much of the day was spent like this. Every time Patton traveled from room to room, Virgil was sure to follow; albeit at a much slower pace. By the end of the day Virgil was panting from all the exertion. It was quite a feat, trying to keep up with the human’s much larger steps.

Unfortunately, this was a necessary step to Virgil’s plan. He had to keep an eye on Patton as much as possible, tracking his movements. Well, more specifically, the key’s movements.

Strictly speaking, keys were an item never, ever to be touched by borrowers. Humans always noticed when they went missing and were willing to go to desperate measures to find them, sometimes including tearing up floorboards or drywall. And these humans were bound to notice the _instant_  this particular key went missing, which meant Virgil would have to be quick.

But it was the only plan Virgil had. Simply picking the lock didn’t work. If the borrower had the actual key he could rescue Logan easily. They were bound to leave some evidence behind in their haste, but the humans already knew Logan existed. Would it really be so terrible for them to find a misplaced key if it meant Logan could go free? Virgil was certainly willing to pay the price.

However, it seemed Patton was very attached to this key. The human never took it off, and only rarely did Virgil actually catch enough of a glimpse of it to confirm the human still was wearing it. Virgil was beginning to doubt his own plan, trying to think of any alternatives, when it happened. 

“Well, I’m heading to bed.” Patton yawned, waving goodnight to his human roommate. He returned to his own bedroom, unaware of the tiny footsteps following him in the walls. Patton got ready, changing into pajamas and brushing his teeth. He crawled into bed, setting his glasses onto the nightstand. Patton paused, but ultimately decided to keep the lanyard on as he slept. Roman’s paranoia was starting to get to him; it almost felt like Patton was being watched.

Patton shuddered, not wanting to entertain that idea any further. Instead he reached over and turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness. Then Patton laid back against his pillows. After a few minutes, his breathing began to even out as the human fell asleep.

“Oh, come on.” Virgil groaned, realizing the human even slept with the key on. Were humans really so obsessed with their keys? Virgil was always a worst-case-scenario kind of borrower. So, even though he had really,  _really_  hoped it wouldn’t come to this, Virgil still had a plan.

Virgil climbed through the wall tunnels, his feet sore from the long day of racing between rooms. He arrived at the outlet just below the nightstand of Patton’s room. With a strong push, the outlet cover gave way and revealed an exit. 

The borrower peeked his head out, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Looking up, he could see the shifting form of the snoring human, still fast asleep. Good. Virgil could only hope he stayed that way. 

Virgil swung his hook up onto the nightstand, knowing that it would be impossible to get the hook to catch on the blankets of the bed. He climbed up, avoiding the various objects placed on the wooden surface. Virgil stood, facing the human’s sleeping form. Virgil tried not to feel nervous, but that was difficult when every instinct inside him was screaming that this was a terrible idea. After all, what borrower in their right mind would go towards a human?

Trying not to think about what Logan would say when he inevitably found out about this, Virgil took a running leap onto the bed. He grappled onto the thick fabric with a death grip, refusing to be shaken as the blankets moved beneath him like a ship caught in a storm. Virgil scrambled up onto higher ground for better footing. With a slight jolt, he realized that in his haste to stay afloat Virgil had ended up on the human’s chest.

Virgil shuddered, trying not to think about what lay beneath the many layers of fabric under his feet. He took a few wobbly steps, making sure to keep his footing light. One false move could wake the giant and this would all be for naught. 

It was a slow process, and Virgil kept his head down to focus on his own movements rather than face the very real danger he was heading towards. With every inhale and exhale Patton made, Virgil had to be careful not to be thrown off balance entirely. As he neared Patton’s face, Virgil could also feel a warm breeze that he realized was Patton’s breath. 

“So weird.” Virgil whispered to himself. It was terrifyingly freaky being this close to a human. Virgil had never dared to do something this insane before. And he never wanted to do it again.

Virgil stopped, finally reaching his destination at the base of Patton’s neck. He knelt down, crawling on his hands and knees to where the lanyard rested. Virgil pulled on the strap, pulling the key out from under the blankets and into view. First he tried yanking it off, but the necklace was too sturdy. All the borrower got for his efforts was a groan from the human, and the floor shifting beneath him.

The hairs on the back of Virgil’s neck stood up. Quickly, Virgil took out his knife and began to saw at the lanyard. His hands were shaking. Virgil couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong. What if the human was waking? The giant would probably be furious, especially if he figured out Virgil was trying to take his key. Would he just bite Virgil’s head off? Virgil knew that sort of thing wasn’t usually what humans did, but-

Lost in thought, Virgil’s hand slipped. His knife, made of a discarded razor blade, missed the thick strap of fabric entirely. Instead, Virgil could only watch in slow motion as his hand continued down as if of its own accord, slicing down across the human’s skin and leaving a scarlet trail.

“Ow!” Patton quickly sat up, and Virgil’s entire world was suddenly spinning. He tried to keep hold on anything in sight, trying not to fall. Unfortunately, this only earned him a startled gasp as the human became fully aware of his presence. A hand larger than him came up and swatted him away, sending Virgil careening across the bed as a thunderous shriek filled his ears. 

“Patton!” The other human’s thundering footsteps came rumbling in, causing Virgil to groan. “What’s wrong?” This was _bad_. Virgil tried to get on his hands and knees, ignoring the way his head pounded inside his skull. 

“I- there’s another one!” Patton tucked his legs close to his chest, pointing to the foot of the bed. “It  _bit_  me!” 

 _No, I didn’t._ Virgil thought vaguely to himself, feeling a bit foggy. Weakly he began to crawl away, but his muscles didn’t seem to be responding. Was that normal? Was this a normal thing for him? Virgil couldn’t remember. 

“What? Really?!” The overhead light came on, leaving Virgil completely exposed as two humans gawked at him from a distance. “Well, then, uh, I’ll just-” There was a shuffling around the room, and a large shadow overtook Virgil. 

“No, don’t hurt it!” Patton protested. 

“I’m  _not!_ ” A moment later, Virgil was plunged back into darkness. He felt around, realizing from texture alone the familiar feel of cardboard. A second later the wall came towards him, forcing Virgil back to the ground as his surroundings were once again in motion. As everything flipped upside right, Virgil realized he had been caught in a box. 

Virgil scrambled into the corner, gazing fearfully up at the giant faces peering down in at him. Patton had grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and seemed a bit anxious to peek very far. Roman, on the other hand, was looking at him with an unreadable expression that might’ve been some mix of excitement and anger. Virgil gulped. 

“What’re we going to do about you?” Roman asked, and though Virgil knew the human was talking about him he didn’t dare answer. Luckily the humans didn’t seem to want Virgil’s opinion anyways, turning instead to each other for advice. “Should I put him in with the other one, Pat?”

Virgil’s eyes widened at this suggestion, a small ray of hope in his otherwise bleak scenario. Yes, he was captured. And his head was foggy. But the fact that he would soon be reunited with Logan was a small blessing. Between the two of them, surely they could figure out an escape plan from the inside.

“No.” Patton’s words cut Virgil’s hope like a knife. Just like how Virgil had cut Patton with a knife just moments ago. As if replaying that event in his head, Patton rubbed at his neck subconsciously. “I don’t think that’s a great idea. This one seems too…violent. What if they fight? I don’t want our little guy getting hurt.”

 _…No_. Virgil looked pleadingly up at the humans, but neither of them seemed to be paying him attention as they discussed his fate above his head.  _No, please, we won’t fight. I promise I’ll be good._

“Well, can you get another cage then?” Roman suggested. _Just put us together. Please._

“Yes, but not until the morning.” Patton glanced at the clock. “They don’t open until seven.”  _I didn’t even stab you that hard!_

Virgil pulled at his hair. The Universe just had to treat him so cruelly, didn’t it? It wasn’t enough for Virgil to be put into captivity, he had to be isolated as well. Unfortunately, there was nothing Virgil could do about it. His fate was sealed. The box lid closed, the humans thinking it best to keep him contained until his new prison was ready.


	5. November 17th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil HAD a plan- get the key and get out.

The night had passed tensely for both humans. Patton found it difficult to fall asleep, so Roman decided to stay up with him. Both kept a wary eye on the cardboard box on the dresser as though they expected the creature to jump out at them at any moment. Patton had applied a hello kitty bandaid to the small cut on his neck. Upon closer inspection of the wound it was clear that it was a scratch and not a bite. Roman had also found the discarded razor blade amongst Patton’s sheets, as well as the hook embedded in the nightstand.

“Well, that explains where this went.” Roman said, picking up the fish hook that had mysteriously disappeared. He pocketed both to add to his collection of bizarre discovered objects. 

“At least we know now our little guy isn’t getting out in the middle of the night.” Patton tried to stay optimistic. “It was just this new, er, thing creeping around.” At his own words Patton shuddered, sending a glance around his room. He really hoped more weren’t going to pop out in the middle of the night. Though the cut didn’t hurt much, it did worry him. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to have the nice one in your room instead?” Roman asked, but Patton merely shook his head.

“No, I should probably get some practice with… more aggressive animals.” Patton explained. After all, as a vet student Patton had to be prepared to deal with all sorts of patients rather than just the cute and cuddly ones. “Besides, I know you like the first little guy better, anyways.”

“Yeah, because that one didn’t attack my best friend.” Roman muttered, crossing his arms.

“It was probably just scared!” Patton tried to defend the new tiny. “It probably didn’t know any better.” 

“Scared of what, you sleeping in your bed?” Roman raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t doing anything even remotely threatening.” 

“Well…” Patton bit his lip, looking back at the box. None of this made any sense. Why was the little guy in his bed in the first place? Why did it attack Patton? What was it doing with that fish hook string thing? Patton wished he could just ask, but despite their human-like appearance these creatures seemed incapable of speech. Or at least, their first mini buddy had yet to answer their questions.

“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.” Patton assured his friend. “And now that we know it’s hostile, I’ll be cautious. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Fine.” Roman agreed sulkily. “But if that thing scratches you again, it’s out of here.”

Patton pursed his lips at that. He didn’t want to kick the little guy out, or let Roman hurt the little guy either. After all, from everything Patton had learned this creature was likely acting in what it thought was self-defence. It was just trying its best in a giant world, full of huge scary humans.

“Here.” Patton said, taking off the lanyard. It felt as though a heavy weight was off his shoulders as he handed it to Roman.

“But, what about everything you said about not losing it?” Roman looked confused as he cautiously took the key. He ran his fingers along the fabric, noticing a small frayed edge.

“Well, I trust you.” Patton admitted. “And if I’m going to have one of my own in my room now, I figured you should be in charge of the key to yours.”

“Wait, really?” Roman’s eyes began to shine slightly with excitement. All this time Patton and Roman had agreed to shared custody of their new finding. However, with this new addition to their apartment, now they could each have their own tiny companion without needing to share. “You mean it?”

“Don’t startle him though!” Patton hurried to advise Roman, feeling his paternal instincts kicking in. “Feed him at least twice a day, lots of fruits and veggies. And make sure to check his water, and-”

“Patton, slow down.” Roman said with a slight chuckle. “Are you sure about this? You seem almost as attached as me.” 

“Sorry.” Patton looked a bit sheepish. “But…yes, I’m sure. I want to rehabilitate this little guy.” Patton gestured to the box. “I’m sure with enough kindness and patience, it’ll be just as nice as the first.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you padre.” Roman said, laying a hand on Patton’s shoulder in support. Although out of Patton’s line of sight, Roman gave a small glare to the box. 


	6. November 18th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil gets a cage, and is not exactly happy about it. Meanwhile, Logan learns the terrible news.

Virgil hated this cage. He hated it from the moment he was placed inside with thick protective gloves. It had open bars on all sides, leaving the borrower fully exposed. Virgil stayed crouched in the back corner, his hood up as he tried desperately to appear invisible. He was unsuccessful. Even when the human wasn’t home Virgil could still feel those piercing eyes on him, sending an unpleasant tickling feeling up his back. 

The room was just so  _big_. And there was nowhere left to hide. But why should hiding even matter anymore? No matter where he was, the humans would find him. They knew he was here. This structure made sure Virgil was never able to go so far as to escape their grasp.

Virgil’s head whipped around as the door opened, Patton peeking his head in. It seemed the human was finally back from school, unfortunately.

“Hey kiddo.” Patton said softly, keeping his movements slow as he came and sat down at the desk. “Just brought you some food.” Patton opened the cage door, causing Virgil to flinch back instinctively. Lucky for him nothing happened, Patton just set a small dish inside and shut the door again. 

Virgil watched as Patton began to pull out some notebooks, humming softly. Virgil frowned. What was this human playing at? Was he going to try and experiment on him? Virgil leaned over slightly to try and get a glimpse into what books the human was reading. At the sight of the diagrams on the page, Virgil paled. It showed what looked to be drawings of assorted creatures, cut open. Oh god, was that what these humans planned to do to him?! Was he going to become some sort of dissected side project? The thought made Virgil whimper, curling in on himself.

“Oh, don’t mind me.” Patton smiled down at him briefly, causing Virgil to tense. “I’m just going to work on some homework. You’re welcome to eat.” Even if he had an appetite, Virgil would rather starve than give the human the satisfaction. He knew that food was poisoned. After all, the humans didn’t seem to like him very much. It would be easiest for them if they just got rid of him. Why wouldn’t they use him as an experiment? They already had Logan to play with, and Virgil was the one who had lashed out. Even if it was an accident, Virgil knew what humans tended to do with pets that attacked.

Oh no, now he was already thinking of himself as a pet, too. But wasn’t that all he was now? How could Virgil ever hope to succeed where Logan had failed? No other borrowers lived in the building. No one knew of their existence. There would be no escape for Virgil or Logan now. At best, Virgil was now a pet. At worst… Virgil glanced once more at the open textbook, a few tears accumulating in his eyes. 

——————————————–

“Afternoon, my little Pendleton.” Roman greeted, entering his room. Logan didn’t even look up to acknowledge his presence. “No? Not that one either? Alright.” Roman shrugged, taking his seat at the desk and shaking the cage slightly by accident. 

For the past few days, Roman had been trying to ‘name’ Logan by testing if Logan reacted to new titles, each more ridiculous than the last. Of course, Logan already had a name, but he wasn’t about to share this fact with Roman. The borrower rules were very explicit in stating that a borrower must never speak to a human. It was for their own safety. Logan understood this principle very well. Though it was demeaning to be viewed as a dumb animal, it meant that the humans were more likely to underestimate his intelligence. If he was patient, the humans were bound to slip up and leave Logan in a position where he would be able to escape.

…Provided he lived that long.

“Are these yours?” Roman held up the knickknacks he had found in Patton’s room the day before. Logan didn’t turn to face him, but Roman continued to wave them back and forth until finally Logan observed what he was holding. The borrower tried to hide the recognition on his face at the familiar items. No, they weren’t his, but rather Virgil’s. His hook and his knife. How had Roman acquired them? Was Virgil not careful and left them behind? Surely Virgil wouldn’t be so careless.

“I found these in Patton’s room yesterday.” Roman explained, watching the little guy’s eyes continue to follow his hand. “Right after Patton found another of…whatever you are.” Roman’s words made Logan’s blood run cold. _No._  Logan turned away, eyes wide as he felt his breathing become more shallow.

“He’s a bit more grouchy than you. All black clothing, a real emo wannabe. Scared the heck out of Patton in the middle of…are you alright?” Roman continued to list off observations about the new borrower, each one only solidifying the fact that it was indeed Virgil. Logan felt himself shaking, trying not to give in to the overwhelming feeling of helplessness threatening to overtake him. 

“Oh, don’t worry!” Roman quickly reassured the borrower, completely misidentifying the source of his fear. “We’re keeping that one in Patton’s room, far away from you. You don’t ever have to see him again.” Logan buried his head in his knees with a groan. 


End file.
